Arkansas rainfall decreases drought area in state

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Recent rainfall has reduced the area covered by drought in Arkansas from about 91 percent to 71 percent in just one week.

Large drought-free swaths swept across parts of counties bordering Missouri, the northeastern part of the state and areas of western Arkansas near the Oklahoma border.

There's also been a noticeable difference on the burn ban map, with just one county — Lincoln — with a burn ban in effect as of Thursday morning. Wildfire danger was low across the northern half of Arkansas from Sebastian to Arkansas counties. The danger is moderate in the rest of the state.

There was an exception to the improvement: most of Jefferson County and parts of eastern Arkansas and northern Lincoln counties saw drought intensify from moderate to severe.